Exercise During Chemo May Help Beat the Treatment's Effects
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Exercising while undergoing chemotherapy can help cancer patients overcome the treatment's debilitating effects and return to normal life faster.
That's according to a new study of 266 patients undergoing chemotherapy for testicular, breast, or colon cancer or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. All the participants took part in a 6-month exercise program, but half started the program during their chemo treatment (3 months before their chemo was scheduled to end), while the other half started after chemo was finished.
Previous research has shown that exercise benefits cancer patients, but this is the first to look at how exercise timing can impact treatment's effects. -
@eale Having more [mitochondria] increases your body's energy supply. Also, exercise increases oxygen circulation. This allows you to more efficiently use energy. If exercise can't be safely performed during chemo, then a program afterward can still help. In fact, all the study participants were able to restore their fitness back to baseline 1 year after completing the exercise regimen, no matter when they had started it.